Sunday, May 15, 2016

Orange

Recently some very tall flower stems have formed on some of the mystery bulbs rescued from a house about to be demolished last August. (That seems so long ago. I can't believe it was less than a year.) The stems look a bit like gladioli, but they have branches of flower buds, not just a single stem. And it isn't normal gladioli season.

Now those flowers have begun to open:

You can also see in this photo flowers on the lavender grown from a cutting of the plant that self-seeded in my old garden three years ago.

Fantastic orange colour:

It seems they are gladioli, just a different species. Gladiolus dalenii. A family member called them "winter gladdies", but the internet calls them "parrot gladioli".

One page I found referred to them as weeds: Wish I had weeds like this. But the Victorian Government listing of invasive species says, "This weed is not known to be naturalised in Victoria", and that, "the plant is unlikely to establish as the climate, soil or landuse is not presently suitable", so it sounds as if growing them in the garden here will not cause problems in the local bushland. If they even survive in the garden!